Linear modulation circuit



June 26, 1951 w. D. WHITE LINEAR MODULATION CIRCUIT Filed Feb. 18, 1946 TO MODULATOR 0'90 PLATE VOLTAGE D.G. PLATE VOLTAGE PLATE CURRENT D.O. GRID VOLTAGE GRID VOLTAGE PLATE VOLTAGE D.G. PLATE VOLTAGE PLATE CURRENT D.C. GRID VOLTAGE GRID VOLTAGE TO MODULATOR L80 PLATE VOLTAGE D.O.PLATE VOLTAGE PLATE CURRENT 0.0. GRID VOLTAGE GRID VOLTAGE PLATE VOLTAGE D.O. PLATE VOLTAGE PLATE CURRENT D.C. GRID VOLTAGE GRID VOLTAGE INVENTOR WARREN D. WHITE A TTORIVE Y Patented June 26 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE LINEAR MODULATION CIRCUIT Warren D. White, West Hempstead, N. Y., as.

signor to the United States of America as represented by the Secretary of War Application February 18, 1946, Serial No. 648,538

4 Claims. 1

This invention relates generally to electrical circuits and more particularly to improvements in plate-modulated oscillators.

It is sometimes desirable to modulate the oscillator stage of a transmitter directly. The most common method of accomplishing this is by superimposing the modulating voltage upon the D.-C. plate supply voltage, resulting in socalled plate modulation. The linearity of such a plate modulated oscillator is ordinarily good only at relatively low modulating frequencies.

When high modulating frequencies are used in a plate modulated oscillator, for example, in a negative grid triode oscillator with tuned-plate tuned-grid circuits, the capacitance shunting the grid bias voltage tends to lay-pass the rapid variations of bias voltage. This prevents the grid bias voltage from following closely the variation in plate voltage. As a result, the linearity of modulation is adversely affected. The high Q of the grid and plate resonant tank circuits also affect adversely the high frequency modulation, the result being similar to the effect of the shunting capacitance on the grid bias voltage.

It is, therefore, an object of this invention to provide means to compensate for the. non-uniform action of the grid-bias shunting capacitance in vacuum tube circuits.

It is also an object of this invention to provide means to compensate for the efiect of high- Q grid and plate tank circuits upon the modulation linearity of an oscillator.

Other objects, features, and advantages of this invention will suggest themselves to those skilled in the art and will become apparent from the following description of the invention taken in connection with the accompanying drawing in which:

Fig. 1 is a diagram of a plate-modulated negative grid triode oscillator with tuned-plate tuned-grid circuits;

Fig. 2 is a diagram of a similar circuit embodying the invention;

Fig. 3 is a graph showing the relation between A.-C. and D.-C. plate and grid voltages and plate currents in the circuits of Figs. 1 and 2 under normal carrier level conditions;

Fig. 4 is a graph illustrating the effects on grid and plate voltages and plate current, due to low reactance of capacitance across the grid bias, when the D.-C. plate voltage is rapidly increased;

Fig. 5 is a graph illustrating the desired effects on grid and plate voltages and plate cur- 2 rent as the D.-C. plate voltage is increased, at any modulation frequency; and

Fig. 6 is a graph illustrating the effects on grid and plate voltages and plate current, dueto. the high-Q of the tank circuit, when the D.-C plate voltage is rapidly increased.

It is to be understood that the very rapid variations of voltages and currents shown in Figs. 3 to 6 inclusive take place at the'oscillation. frequency, whereas the relative levels of D.-C'. grid and plate voltages identified by the correspondingly designated horizontal lines in the said figures vary at'the modulation frequency.

Referring now more particularly to Fig. 1, there is illustrated a common method of plate modulation in a negative grid triode oscillator. The capacitance I0, which includes the effective interelectrode and stray capacitances in the grid bias circuit, may be regarded asshunting the biasing resistance l I. When a modulating signal applied to the plate circuit is in the low or audio frequency range, the capacitance it! does not prevent the grid from following thesignal variations. This desired characteristic is illustrated by the graph in Fig. 5 where, as the D.-C. plate voltage is increased to twice the normal value shown in Fig. 3, the D.-C. grid voltage and plate current increase proportionally.

However, asillustrated in Fig. 4, in which it may be assumed that the Qs of the tuned circuits are low, when high modulating frequencies are used the reactance of capacitance I 0 becomes so low that the D.-C. grid bias voltage does not follow the modulation changes in plate voltage, and an excessive plate current results.

A comparison of Figs. 3 and 4 indicates that although the D.-C. plate voltage in Fig. 4 has been increased to substantially twice that in Fig. 3, the D.-C. grid voltage remains at the same value as in Fig. 3 and the plate current becomes excessive. Similarly, as illustrated in Fig. 6 in which it may be assumed that capacitance III is very small, while the D.-C. grid bias may to some extent follow the variation in the D.-C. plate voltage, the amplitudes of the grid and plate voltage swings are not as great as those shown for proper operating conditions as in Fig. 5, and again an excessive surge of plate current is produced.

In Fig. 2 a compensating network, comprising the inductances l2 and I3 and capacitances l4 and I5, has been included in the grid biasing circuit to compensate for the low impedance shunting effect of capacitance ID at high frequencies. In operation, the reactive elements of the compensating network build up acros the terminals of capacitance ID a high impedance that is constant in magnitude as the modulation frequency varies. The capacitance Ill, the inductance I2 and the capacitance l4 form a constant-k filter section. The constant-7e filter section is matched to the grid biasing resistance II on an image impedance basis by an m-derived half section, comprising the capacitances i4 and I and inductance I3. If X10 is the reactance of the total capacity (capacitance Ill) across the filter input at the cutoff frequency (fa) of the filter, then, on the assumption that there is a perfect impedance match of R 1 (resistance H) to the filter, one has: Magnitude of impedance ,R1r=1oad impedance with which the filter o erates.

Xio=Reactance of total capacity across filter in- 7 put terminals at the cutofi frequency fc. f=frequency of modulation. 7

For X1o=R u/2, the impedance that is developed is constant up to the cutoff frequency fcof the low-pass filter, and has a value 2x10 v A network so designed to compensate for the 'reactance'shunting efiect :of capacitance ID at high frequencies is adequate in such circuits as video amplifiers. For a modulated oscillator circuit as here described, the additional effect of the high-Q circuits is corrected by overcompensating' for the capacitance I 0. This gives thefiesiredoperating characteristics as shown in Fig. 5.

While there has been described what is at pres- 'ent considered to be the preferred embodiment of this invention, it will be obvious to those skilled "in the art that various changes and'modifications may be made therein without departing from the scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims. 7

Whatis'claimed'is: I

l. A modulated vacuum tube tuned -plate, tuned-grid oscillator including, a grid biasing resistance, a first inductanceconnected to the tunedgridcircuit of said tube, a second inductance interconnecting said resistance and said first inductance, a first capacitance connected in shunt to said second inductance, a second capacitance connected across said serially connected resistance and second inductance, the interelectrode capacitance of said tube bein considered as a third capacitance shunted across said serially connected resistance and inductances, the constants of said resistance, capacitances and inductances being interrelated to provide a substantially constant-impedance grid circuit whereby linear modulation may be obtained.

2. In a modulated vacuum tube oscillator having at least a cathode and a control grid, a grid to cathode circuit havin a compensating network forimproving the modulation linearity of .said oscillator, said network including a constantrlc filter circuit coupled to said grid, a grid biasing resistor connected to said cathode, and

. a terminating half section filter circuit connecting said resistor and said K filter circuit.

3. In combination, a vacuum tube having at least a cathode and a control grid, a grid biasing resistance connected to said cathode, a first inleast a cathode and a control grid, and agrid-tocathode circuit including a network for compensating for the stray capacitance of said tube, said network comprising a constant-K filter circuit coupled to said grid, a grid bias resistor connected to said cathode, and an m-derived half section filter circuit connecting said resistor and said K filter circuit. V

WARREN 'D.

I REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record inthe file of this patent:

QST for June'1934, page 14, published by American Radio Relay League. 

